Anti-government protests in the centre of Bangkok have led to international meeting planners postponing events or relocating them to other cities in Asia. Medical device company Abbott is one multinational that has switched a key regional meeting for its medical optics sales executives from the Thai capital. Abbott Medical Optics’ meeting planners told CEI Asia that a three-day turnaround effort was launched in the past few days to change the meeting to Hong Kong. The Tourism Authority of Thailand has also postponed local marketing activities for the month. The Four Seasons hotel in Bangkok has been forced to cancel several business events, and a major medical association event has been cancelled, due to mass protests that have blockaded major city centre roads. Senior director of public relations at Four Seasons Asia Pacific, Nicola Chilton, told London-based C&IT that the hotel has received several cancellations from the group and incentive sector this month. Chilton added that visitors were taking a ‘wait and see’ approach with regards to how the political situation in Thailand is developing as protestors vow to boycott or disrupt planned elections and demand the government steps down. “We’re monitoring the situation closely […]
Read More

Bureaus and DMCs on regular programming despite some cancellations Amid ongoing anti-government demonstrations in the capital, Thailand’s Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has emphasised that business events and activities in the city are proceeding as normal. According to the bureau, business venues in and around Bangkok have not been affected. Destination Asia Thailand’s CEO James Reed says that all of the company’s tours and activities in the Bangkok have continued and only isolated areas of the city have been disrupted by the protests. These are mainly the government buildings along Ratchadamnoen Avenue, the Laksi District, where the Department of Special Investigation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are located, the Ministry of Finance in Phayathai District, and the Government House in Dusit District. He says unlike the situation in 2010, where shopping malls and some tourist areas were taken over by demonstrators, the vast majority of Bangkok remains unaffected at this time, with international airports, public transport such as the SkyTrain and MTR, and city and provincial bus lines still running on regular schedules. Some DMCs however, are opting to stay on the side of caution. Thailand-based AsiaWorld Enterprise, the official travel partner for the international Race of […]
Read More